While I am more of a fan of the Next Generation treks, I love Star Trek 2 and 4. Awesome films. I actually as a kid never knew Star Trek one existed, just assumed Wrath of Khan was the first, despite the fact 2 was in the title. Yeah...I was a slow kid.

There's a great story in Stephen King's "Danse Macabre", where he describes Harlan Ellison's experiences working on a script for this film. For Rodenberry, it was always about the Enterprise finding God, or God turning out to be a child, or both.

I always liked when spock had to act more human. Like in IV or when they would travel to 1930's planet or nazi planet or gangster planet. This really has nothing to do with this movie because I've never seen it and never will.

I liked this movie as well, even if it really takes itself a wee bit too seriously at times and pads certain scenes out to ridiculous lengths. With some scenes though, the slow, ponderous, pace works, like when they went inside V'Ger. Loved the concept of V'Ger, and just how powerful the damned thing was, and yet how simple it was at the same time.

Sure it got overshadowed by the later installments, but it was still f'n sweet.

But do you ever notice, in the movies, how many times Kirk's had to save the day against Godly beings?? V'Ger, that Whale-thing from Voyage Home, and that energy being posing as God in "Final Frontier".

Surprised he was never promoted much after the fact. I mean, you save humanity's collective ass twice from godly omnipotent beings who can easily destroy the Earth, I'd AT LEAST want a goddamn promotion. Then he went and bested a being posing as God himself, I'd be surprised if anything could get Kirk worried after that. :P